


Icarus

by Burgie



Series: Icarus [1]
Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/M, lots of blood and pain but no onscreen violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-06 06:54:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16383428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: A prominent Star Circle healer comes across an injured man in Pandoria. Daine belongs to HellishSam.





	1. Wounded

From everything that she'd heard about this place, Louisa had expected Pandoria to be a terrible place, one of nothing but pain and suffering and hardship. She hadn't expected it to look so beautiful.

"We shouldn't linger here long," said Goldmist, her trusty steed, the other half of her soul, apparently very important according to her druid friends. And she felt it in her heart, in her soul.

"I know," said Louisa, giving a shake of her head and moving in the saddle to bring herself back to... well, not earth. Pandoria, really. Goldmist whickered, flicking his tail as she asked him to continue onwards. She could see giant blue Manta rays flying overhead, leaving her in their shadow most of the time. She resisted the urge to duck whenever they swooped overhead, though this was significantly easier to resist with so much to see. The trees, like willows with bright pink, glowing leaves, the bark shot through with glowing purple. There was a lake there, too, a purple lake that she wondered about. But Goldmist tugged her away from it and back onto the cobblestone road.

"That's lava," said Goldmist. And, now that Louisa looked, she could see evidence of previous lava flows. This whole island that she was on, the one floating in the pink void of Pandoria, seemed to be composed of solidified molten rock. It was fascinating. The student in her wanted to stay here and just study this place, but Fripp had warned her that she shouldn't stay here long. Pandoria was dangerous to humans, he'd said. But was she human, really? Her studies in the Star Circle had lent her the ability to feel the pain of others, an empath, Lisa called it. The Soul Rider of the Star Circle had taken her on as a student after Louisa had expressed interest in it.

"I need to ask Linda if there are books on this place," said Louisa. "Maybe-" But her musings were cut off by a cry of pain, accompanied with the panicked squeal of a horse. Louisa looked up and almost screamed herself at the sight of large, thick, purple-scaled tentacles rising into the air. She trembled in her saddle, Goldmist shifting his hooves uneasily.

"We should go," said Goldmist. "It's too dangerous." He pinned his ears, trapped between the tentacles and the lava. In a few places, smaller tentacles were emerging from the ground, and Louisa noticed that some thorny plants had draped themselves across the path ahead.

"No," said Louisa, feeling a vague tingling sensation that heralded the arrival of pain. Not that she ever felt intense pain, not the same pain that other people were feeling, just enough to know that it was there. But she still braced herself as she turned Goldmist back onto the road and headed down it, away from the portal even though she could feel Goldie's intense need to get back to Jorvik where it was safe. She felt the same way, and yet...

Someone was hurt, and she needed to save them.

Together, horse and rider galloped down the cobblestone path, leaping over thorny vines and avoiding lashing tentacles that tried to ensnare, to trip, to take. Goldie kept his wings folded tight to his sides as they ran. Louisa didn't even have time to admire the magnificent gigantic mushrooms that they passed, too busy trying to dodge the beautiful yet painful spores that they dropped.

After passing through the mushroom forest, though, Louisa had to pull Goldie up quickly at the sound of flapping wings. A gorgeous dapple grey Lusitano landed in front of them, whinnying shrilly in fear and rolling his eyes. His wings kept opening and closing in his agitation.

"What is it, boy, what's wrong?" Louisa asked, trying not to flinch as the pain slowly started to hit. Her shoulders and, weirdly, her upper back. She also felt a little warm, as though she were burning, but that was strange. Why would she feel like that? Unless someone was on fire. Maybe there was another pool of lava here and someone had fallen into it? She really hoped not.

Louisa followed the Lusitano, though, Goldie following without complaint or concern. She needed to lead the Lusitano through the Shadow Seekers, though, the horse kept getting hit by them and backing away in fear. But he still wanted to continue on, not even his pain from the Shadow Seekers holding him back from his goal. Maybe he'd left his rider here.

Louisa didn't see the end of the tunnel when she reached it, too busy cringing under the waves of pain and despair rolling over her. She grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut tight, trembling and hunching over Goldie in her saddle.

"Are you okay?" Goldie rumbled, his voice breaking through the fog. Louisa nodded, opening her eyes and blinking away tears.

"Yeah, I just... wow," said Louisa, still shaking. "That was intense."

"I imagine that it was worse due to your empath abilities," said Goldie. "I can feel the despair, though. It's like around the tree." Louisa remembered that, the strength of the Sleeping Widow's depression that had almost sapped her strength.

"It is," said Louisa. "But- Daine!" Now she recognised the horse, and all of the pieces fell into place. Of course the Lusitano was Cloud, currently walking in circles around his downed rider and neighing his fear, his ears pinned and wings still flicking in agitation. Louisa dismounted, ignoring the clear and present danger of the tentacles in running towards the man she loved. She fell to her knees, the slick blood on the pyroclastic ground lending to a very slippery surface. At least he was out cold, but who knew how long that would last?

Daine looked different, though Louisa paid little mind to this. What were strange lines on his face and cat-like ears and horns and a tail when he was bleeding everywhere from a ragged hole in his back? She could see it through his sweatshirt, which now had a pretty awful tear in it. It could probably be fixed, though.

"I can fix this," said Louisa, channeling her healing magic into her hands. But before she could bring her hands to Daine's back, a shadow fell over her.

"Well, well," a chillingly-familiar voice drawled. "If it isn't the Star Healer. And what is this?"

"You're not taking her!" Goldie neighed, rearing up and slamming his hooves into Darko's chest, sending him stumbling back. While Darko was busy trying to regain his footing, Louisa scooped up Daine, trying to hold him despite the blood everywhere without hurting him further, and draped him over Cloud's back. Cloud held him in place with his wings, ears pinned as he almost seemed to dance uncertainly.

"Go!" Louisa called to Cloud, swinging herself back into Goldie's saddle and grateful that the blood didn't make things too slippery. The last thing she needed right now was to fall off.

Somehow, the four of them managed to evade the tentacles and travel back through the portals to Pandoria, even keeping their footing on the tricky path between worlds. Louisa had never felt more relieved when she jumped through the portal and saw Cloud following her, Daine still safely on his back between his wings.

In the Secret Stone Circle, though, Daine started screaming. Everything after that happened in a rush. Fripp destroyed the Pandorian Keystone, the one thing keeping the portal open. Louisa fell to her knees from the pain, pain in her arms from shards of stone in the Soul Riders joining the pain in her back in a symphony of agony. But there was yet more pain to come, she could feel it building in Daine.

The druids took Daine to Avalon's house, two of the robed men restraining him. They were afraid to use magic on him, lest it get worse. This was some Pandorian malady, they said, a result of Daine's time in Pandoria. He'd spent too long there, they said. The whole time, Cloud trotted around in Avalon's yard, neighing his concern and looking into the window of the room where Daine had been put into a bed.

Robed figures flocked around Daine, administering poultices and bandages to his back that didn't do much good. His form kept changing, teeth and fingernails turning sharp and deadly, lines appearing and disappearing on his face and down his torso, eyes glowing vibrant purple even when he had them shut.

The whole time, Louisa waited outside, flinching every time an unfortunate druid got in the way of Daine's claws. When he bit someone, a druid suggested muzzling him.

"No!" Louisa cried, lunging forward and pulling the muzzle out of the druid's hands when they tried to come back into the room. "He's not an animal!"

"But he bit Elanour, he's dangerous," said the druid, trying to pull the muzzle back towards themselves.

"He's just hurt and you're not helping him!" Louisa shouted at him, the pain adding to her anger. Seeing and feeling Daine this injured hurt her heart. And if she was in agony, she could only imagine how much worse it must feel for him.

"We're doing all that we can," said Elizabeth, trying to be gentle.

"It's not enough!" said Louisa, tears in her eyes. "He needs to be healed, properly healed, with magic!"

"But we don't know what magic will do to him," said Avalon. "It could have far more dire consequences, could worsen his condition. He might die."

"He will die if you don't heal him," said Louisa. "I'm going in."

"Louisa, no, it's too dangerous," said Elizabeth, grabbing hold of Louisa's arm. Louisa turned to her, glaring as another wave of burning pain washed through her. She could feel it in her mouth and fingers whenever Daine's teeth and claws changed, though she wasn't sure if the burning in her eyes was from him or not.

"So was going to Pandoria, and I did that and lived," said Louisa, pulling her arm away from Elizabeth. She continued into the room and had to sit down on the chair by Daine's bed, the pain hitting her more intensely now. But as she watched Daine writhe in agony and scream as his eyes, fingers, and teeth changed again and again, she didn't feel scared. Only concerned.

"See, you can't handle it, you're not strong enough," said Elizabeth, marching back in and grabbing Louisa's arm.

"Yes I can, he's just- Daine!" Louisa called as Elizabeth and Avalon dragged her out of the room.

She wasn't allowed back in after that, no matter how much she begged or pleaded with the druids. Instead, Louisa was left outside to try to calm down Cloud, worried for his rider. Daine's blood was still drying on her clothes, though, and she could still faintly feel his pain. Her heart ached, tears slipping down her face as she placed her hand on Cloud's soft nose.

"It'll be okay," Louisa whispered. She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince.

In the time that it took for Louisa to take Cloud back to South Hoof and calm him down, the druids had moved Daine elsewhere.

"Where?" she demanded when she'd been told.

"The druid infirmary," said Elizabeth gently. "And no, I'm not telling you where it is. It's safer for you if you don't know."

"But he's my friend," said Louisa. "He shouldn't be alone right now." She trembled, though she felt a flash of anger at Elizabeth's sympathetic frown.

"I know how it feels when the one you love is hurt and you can't help them," said Elizabeth.

"But I can, if you'll let me," said Louisa.

"No," said Elizabeth sadly. "You can't." Tears burned Louisa's eyes as she turned and ran for Goldie, mounting him to ride away. If they wouldn't let her help Daine, well... she'd just find a way to help him herself. No matter what it took. She loved him too much to just let him rot in a druid infirmary, she knew enough about the druids to know that they wouldn't do anything.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louisa gets her chance to help Daine.

Ordinarily, Louisa wouldn't have tried to fight a direct order from the druids. She didn't trust them, sure, not with how much they were holding off on rescuing Anne and now how they were acting with Daine, but she wouldn't directly oppose them. If for no other reason than it was stupid to oppose those who held the life of the one she loved in their hands. And so she stayed away, trying not to fret too much over Daine's state as she trained her horses and helped her friends with looking after Daine's horses.

Cloud was the worst, always looking concerned or sad when Louisa came in to see him. He'd look around, looking for Daine, but his rider wasn't there.

"Sorry, boy," Louisa would say every time, stroking his cheek. "He's not here." Cloud would give a sad neigh, lowering his head and closing his eyes. Not even a good ear scratch could cheer him up. He wasn't even showing his wings anymore, they'd disappeared on the way back to South Hoof. Fortunately, not while he'd been flying. He hadn't had the emotional energy to fly, dragging his hooves the whole way. Louisa couldn't blame him.

A week passed like this, and then, Louisa received a visitor.

"Oh," said Louisa when she saw Lisa at her front door. "It's... you."

"Yeah," said Lisa, looking away from Louisa's tear-streaked face. They'd both enjoyed a brief flirtation after Lisa had returned from Pandoria, but nothing had come of it. Lisa hadn't been emotionally or mentally ready for a relationship, too concerned about Anne's state and trying to get over her time in Pandoria. Trying to heal wounds that couldn't be healed as easily as physical wounds. And then Louisa had met Daine, and any chance for her and Lisa had vanished. It had almost been love at first sight, an infatuation.

"Do you wanna come in or something?" Louisa asked. Lisa looked back at her.

"No, I actually came here for... you," said Lisa, sounding as though she were letting a breath out. "To help you with your... problem."

"What problem?" asked Louisa. "You mean the fact that the druids have Daine and they're probably just letting him die?" Lisa flinched at the venomous tone in Louisa's voice.

"Yes, actually," said Lisa.

"There's a surprise," said Louisa. "You usually hate me talking about him."

"And I used to," said Lisa. "I'll admit that, I was stupid and selfish. But not anymore."

"Really?" asked Louisa, leaning against the doorframe with her arms folded over her chest.

"Okay, fine, so I'm still jealous that you like him so much," said Lisa. "But I can take you to the druid infirmary, if you'll come with me."

"I want to trust you," said Louisa.

"Have I ever misled you before?" Lisa asked, hurt in her green eyes as she looked at Louisa.

"No," said Louisa, casting her eyes downwards. "You haven't."

"Exactly, so come with me," said Lisa, holding her hand out for Louisa to take. "I can take you to the druid infirmary so you can... see how he is. You at least deserve that much."

"It's going to hurt, isn't it?" Louisa asked after a few moments of silence.

"I won't lie- yes, it will," said Lisa. "The druid infirmary has a lot of patients in it, some with really horrible injuries. Burns, magical maladies, broken bones, missing limbs, internal injuries-"

"I meant seeing Daine," said Louisa. "And not being able to help him."

"Oh," said Lisa. "Right, yeah, you would be thinking of that. He's..."

"How is he?" Louisa asked.

"Well, so you don't freak out when you see him... he's in a coma," said Lisa. "But not all the time."

"How does that work?" Louisa asked. "How can it be a coma if he keeps waking up?"

"Because aside from those moments when he's awake, he's not showing any signs of brain activity," said Lisa. "It's... weird. Because when he wakes up, he's like a monster." Louisa flinched at the word. Of course they'd call Daine that.

"So he's got sharp teeth and sharp claws and glowing eyes, so what?" Louisa asked. "That doesn't make him a monster."

"He tries to attack anyone close to him," said Lisa. "He's already taken a piece out of a few doctors and nurses. Even me." Louisa resisted the urge to say that he hadn't meant it. Lisa probably knew that.

"Anything else?" Louisa asked, biting her bottom lip.

"Because of these attacks, he's... strapped to the bed," said Lisa. Louisa glared at her, and Lisa took a step back, holding her hands up.

"Strapped to a bed?" Louisa repeated. "He's hurt!"

"Hey, it wasn't my idea!" said Lisa. "I'm just telling you so you know what to expect."

"Thanks for the heads-up," said Louisa, calming down a little. Lisa probably wouldn't take her if she was angry.

"So, do you wanna come with me to see him?" Lisa asked, looking at her carefully.

"Yeah," said Louisa, nodding. "I'll come." Though a part of her was terrified at what she might find, her heart beat just a little faster at the knowledge that she'd be seeing Daine very soon.

"Great," said Lisa, sounding relieved as she stood up straight again. "Get one of your many horses and let's go."

Taking Goldmist and Cloud, Louisa followed Lisa on Starshine away from South Hoof and to Golden Hills Valley, where Lisa showed Louisa a secret path through the mountains by Pi's swamp that led to a large, square, white building. It looked very much like a hospital, but there were runes and druid symbols carved into the white stone brick walls.

"Brace yourself," said Lisa, turning to look at Louisa after they'd dismounted. Cloud lifted his head in the direction of the hospital, his ears swivelling towards a distant presence, and gave a neigh.

Within the hospital, past wards of other injured and sickly people, a very 'interesting' patient came awake again. Pain surged through Daine, like fire. He screamed at the agony that coursed through him, his body thrashing against his restraints. His eyes glowed purple, sharp teeth dripping saliva as he snarled. Not that they could do any damage anymore, not now that he wore a muzzle. His clawed hands tore at the restraints but only succeeded in breaking his own skin, blue blood flowing onto the white sheets.

"Sedate him!" the druid on duty screamed, looking around frantically. Daine surged up, finally managing to break his restraints. His claw lashed out at the enemy. There were two enemies, despite his ears telling him that there was only one person here. He lunged, snarling, claws somehow passing through the figure.

The druid gave a cry of fair as they lunged out of the way, Daine's claws catching on his robe. Daine tried to free his legs but couldn't, growling as his claws nicked his leg instead. Everything looked strange, doubled. And that, coupled with the pain, meant that all he could do was scream in agony. Alarms blared, hurting his ears, everything was seen through a strange purple haze, and still, still, the pain raged through him like the fire that he was capable of summoning. But nothing now. Not when he was so weak from the blood that still pulsed from his back in these moments. Something was torn, missing, broken, something was wrong, but what?

The sound of Daine's screams reached through the hospital to Louisa in the front room, and she flinched from the waves of pain coming from everywhere even as she wanted nothing more than to run towards the source of those screams.

"He's awake again," Lisa muttered beside her ear. "Be careful. He hasn't escaped yet, but he still could." Louisa ignored her, trying to read the signs. But they were written in the strange druid alphabet that Elizabeth and Alex had yet to teach her.

"Can you take me to him?" Louisa asked, looking back at Lisa after the signs and even the evacuation map on the wall didn't help.

"It's not safe," said Lisa. "Wait until they've knocked him back out again."

"Knocked him out?" Louisa repeated, aghast. "You mean they're still not healing him?"

"No, it's too dangerous," said Lisa. "We don't know what effect magic might have on his condition. It could worsen it, you know he used to be able to burn things with his powers. Who knows what could happen?"

"Even after everything, you're still cowards," said Louisa. She marched over to the front desk, standing in front of the druid who sat there. Here, the druids wore maroon tunics and leggings, along with matching gloves, beanie-like hats, and boots. "How do I sign up to work here?"

"We're not hiring at the moment, sorry," said the druid.

"She might be a good recruit, actually," said Lisa, walking up beside Louisa. "Louisa here is the best healer we've seen since, well, me."

"I'm also an empath, if that helps," said Louisa.

"She is," Lisa confirmed with a nod.

"Hmm. Alright," said the druid. "We could use an empath, especially for the patients who can't speak very well."

"Thank you," said Louisa, happiness rushing through her. "I won't let you down."

"Wonderful," said the druid. "Now, did you just come here to work?"

"No," said Louisa, blushing. "I came here to see one of the patients. Daine Mountainhome?"

"Ohh, the phoenix," said the druid. "You'll need special clearance to see him."

"Yeah, that's me," said Lisa, raising her hand in a wave. "I'll take her."

"Good luck," said the druid. "He's in a lot of pain."

"I know," said Louisa, trying to ignore the pain washing over her. It really was as bad as Lisa had warned her, various aches and pains from the other patients in addition to the intense pain from the one she was here for.

Eventually, Daine was sedated and Louisa was allowed in. But he was still awake when Louisa got to the room, being drawn there by the pain rather than anything else. Lisa followed her in, almost bumping into Louisa in the doorway. Louisa couldn't move, too busy looking at Daine. He looked so wounded, growling and glaring around fitfully. His claws scrabbled ineffectually at the restraints that had been strapped back over him. His gaze caught her, and Louisa felt pinned by those glowing purple and yellow eyes. He lashed out feebly, his mouth opening in a snarl, before his hand went slack and his eyes rolled back. He slept once more, covered in a sheen of sweat. Seeing that muzzle over his mouth only added to the pain, he was being treated like an animal.

Looking at him, still feeling his intense pain, Louisa knew that this couldn't go on.

Louisa was put on light duties at the druid infirmary at first, the staff wanting to test out her powers and see if she could be trusted. Elizabeth had warned them about her strong feelings for Daine, apparently.

"They just don't understand love," her mare, Smokeeye, told her as Louisa vented while brushing a comb through her glossy long black mane.

"They don't understand anything," said Louisa. "It's a druid infirmary and they haven't healed him yet." It was a few weeks after she'd been hired, Daine had been in the infirmary for nearly a month now. He still awoke sometimes in fits of pain and screaming, his form flickering between human and non-human. Every time, Louisa shuddered as she felt his pain, angry that she was unable to do anything about it.

"Aren't you on the ward alone tonight?" Smokeeye asked.

"Yeah, there's a druid meeting or something," said Louisa. "It's just me. I have to give him the sedative if he wakes up again. Not looking forward to that."

"Well, now's your chance," said Smokeeye, giving a swish of her tail. "Do what you've been wanting to do for all this time." And for a moment, Louisa felt the urge to refuse this offer, worried about being caught. But then she remembered Daine, remembered how wounded he looked, remembered that the wound in his back still gushed blood several times a day.

"You're right," said Louisa, feeling a strange confidence rising in her. "I can actually do something. Thanks, Smokeeye." She petted her mare's nose before finishing her grooming.

The ward was very quiet as Louisa began her watch that night. Of course it was quiet, Daine was in the ward on his own. They didn't want to risk him hurting or 'infecting' the other patients. Not that he could, what Daine had was no infection. And Louisa knew this.

The building pain told her that it was coming, that Daine would soon wake up. Louisa braced herself, taking a deep breath. This could go wrong. Very, very wrong. But she had to try. Daine seemed to be fading more with every day as each moment of wakefulness drained more blood from his body.

Louisa was a little scared, at first, when Daine opened his purple-glowing eyes and fixed his gaze straight on her, his lips curling back in a snarl.

"Daine, I'm going to heal you," said Louisa, glancing around furtively to ensure that nobody was coming. She couldn't hear anyone, though that could be just because Daine's screaming, his pain, drowned out everything else. Daine lashed out at her, or at where he thought she was. His claws passed perilously close to Louisa's leg. But she took a step closer, against her better instincts.

Ignoring his snarling and lashing claws, ignoring the clear and present danger that she was in and all of the warnings of the druids, Louisa stepped closer to Daine and reached beneath him when he arched his back, her hand finding the wound on his back that was causing him the most trouble. She really didn't expect it to hurt him more.

As her magic went to work, knitting together torn tissue, Daine screamed, straining against his restraints and snapping them. The druids had been using stronger restraints, these ones woven metal, but he still managed to break through it. His strength would have frightened anyone else, but Louisa was focused on healing him, pressing her hand to the middle of that awful gash and ignoring the pain in her own back, the blood running down over her hand and down her arm.

"Damn it, Daine, stay still, I'm trying to heal you!" Louisa snapped at him, using the same tone that she'd use for a difficult animal patient. In response, Daine slashed at the arm that she wrapped around his chest to keep him still. Louisa ignored the fresh, very personal pain in her arm. She could feel the pain lessening, and there was less blood. She felt an odd flicker of gratitude for the muzzle, it was the only thing stopping him from biting down on her arm, though he tried.

Healing the edges of Daine's wound seemed to take less time and energy. Louisa was pretty certain that she'd felt new bones growing, too. That had been odd. But, as the last of the new skin faded to pink, Louisa felt the pain fade completely. In addition, Daine's eyes faded back to their normal orange, his claws returning to bloodied fingernails and his teeth returning to normal. He glanced at Louisa, his pain gone, finally, for the first time in a month.

"Thankyou," Daine croaked, the words slurring into one, and slumped back onto the bed. Louisa healed her fresh wounds, trembling from the adrenaline. That seemed to have worked, but only time would tell. In the meantime, she needed to clean up the blood before anyone saw. Hopefully, the druids would just see it as a miracle. A miracle by Aideen. Which wasn't far from the truth, really.

It was the first time that Daine had slept the whole night through.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louisa learns of the outcome of her healing.

The exhaustion hit Louisa on the ride back home, after cleaning up in the infirmary and ensuring that all of the other patients were fine. She slumped over Smokeeye's neck, barely able to keep herself upright.

"Are you alright?" Smokeeye asked.

"He is," said Louisa, remaining in her position for a moment. Thankfully, Smokeeye reined herself in, staying still while her rider recovered.

"But are you?" Smokeeye asked. Louisa tried to shrug but had to bolt upright when she felt herself sliding with the movement.

"I'll be alright," said Louisa. "I just need... rest."

"Ah, like after you defeated the Suffer Climb?" Smokeeye asked, referring to the tricky, steep, icy climb up a mountain in Dino Valley that gave a great view into Ashland if the mist was clear enough.

"Kind of," said Louisa. "Come on, let's get to an inn at least before I just fall asleep on the ground." Smokeeye gave a nicker as she set off at a slow gallop, though it rapidly turned into a full gallop once Louisa woke up a little. Dawn was breaking over the land, and the sun helped to recharge Louisa a little.

Louisa barely managed to get Smokeeye back into her stall and her tack off, though, before she stumbled back inside of her home on South Hoof and closed the door, drawing the curtains as she made her way to her bed. She was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

She didn't awaken until the sun was setting, but even then, she was tired. Pulling herself out of bed, Louisa made her way to her kitchen, where she poured herself a glass of water from the jug in the fridge and drank it down quickly. She repeated this several times until she was sufficiently rehydrated.

Feeling significantly more human, Louisa set about making herself a meal, the classic eggs and bacon with some toast. Sure, it might be dinner time, but eggs and bacon was a perfectly suitable dinner dish. She could have eaten dinner with Hugh, but she still wasn't quite ready to explain her powers to 'normal' Jorvegians. He might think that she was lying, or weird. And he might get a little upset that she hadn't used her healing powers on Balder. In her defense, she hadn't wanted to reveal herself. Besides, helping Balder in his recovery had been good.

When she heard a knock at the door while waiting for her bacon to cook, Louisa half-expected it to be Daine and her heart leaped. But halfway to the door, she realised that it couldn't be him, why would it be him? He wouldn't be coming over to ask her what was cooking and maybe ask if he could have dinner with her. And not for the old reasons, either, because he didn't know how she felt. He quite literally couldn't be here. Last night honestly just felt like a dream. She didn't even have any scars to show that it had been real, and she was too hungry to step outside and go check on him.

"Oh, Lisa," said Louisa when she opened the door.

"Hey," said Lisa. She sniffed the air, a smile spreading across her face. "Bacon, huh? Mind if I have some?"

"It's my... meal," said Louisa, unsure how to answer that. Technically, time-wise, this would be dinner, but in her view, it was breakfast.

"Just woke up, huh?" said Lisa, raising an eyebrow at her. Louisa nodded, feeling a little ashamed of herself.

"Yeah," said Louisa. "Night shifts are hard."

"Uh huh," said Lisa. "Then you probably know all about our strange patient's mysterious recovery?"

"Um." Louisa hesitated, unsure if she should answer or not. In the silence, she could hear that her bacon had stopped sizzling. "Gotta go!" Leaving the door open, not wanting to slam it in Lisa's face, Louisa darted back across the house, discovering that the bacon hadn't burned yet. After flipping it over, she cracked two eggs into the frying pan and put some toast on for herself.

"Convenient timing, bacon," said Lisa, following Louisa into the kitchen. Louisa found, to her delight, that Lisa had closed the door behind her. At least she had manners.

"What happened with Daine?" Louisa asked, ignoring the way that her heart raced and her voice trembled a little on his name. So it hadn't been a dream after all, then, she'd really done that. Gone into Daine's room, alone, against the express instructions of the druids, and healed Daine. She wasn't entirely sure how she'd been put on the ward alone, not with Daine's random attacks, but maybe it had been a miracle.

"When the next nurse on shift came on, they found him healed and sleeping peacefully," said Lisa. "He hadn't even bled through his bandages."

"Wow, I guess one of the pultices finally worked, then, huh?" said Louisa. Lisa stared at her.

"Even his magical activity seems to have lessened," said Lisa. "Funny, that."

"Yeah," said Louisa. "Funny." Seeing how scared Louisa looked, backed up against the kitchen cabinets, Lisa sighed and unfolded her crossed arms.

"I'm not going to yell at you," said Lisa. Louisa jumped when the toast popped behind her, whipping around to grab it out of the toaster. Lisa moved aside so that Louisa could grab the butter from the fridge.

"Alright, fine," said Louisa as she buttered and cut her toast, arranging it nicely on the plate. "I healed him. I couldn't stand seeing him like that anymore."

"I thought so," said Lisa. "But don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone what you did. At least... not in a way that paints you in a bad light. I'll just tell them that you decided to at least attempt to heal him."

"Thank you," said Louisa, sliding the eggs and bacon onto her plate. "Sorry, I've got no food for you unless you want to raid my pantry."

"I was mostly kidding about that," said Lisa. "I can get my own food on the way back home to the manor."

"You can take a cookie if you want, I don't mind," said Louisa. "Think of it like thanks for covering for me. And I guess an apology for not liking you back."

"If your feelings for him are strong enough to defy direct druid orders, I think I can see that I have no chance," said Lisa. "I hope he treats you right."

"He will," said Louisa. "If, you know, he likes me back."

Lisa gave a sad smile before she left with a home-baked cookie, nibbling on it as she let Starshine take the lead on the way home. She wasn't about to tell Louisa that Daine had woken up and asked for her. It hurt too much.

After eating her meal (technically she was breaking a fast, so Louisa tentatively called it breakfast), Louisa spent the rest of the night trying to repair Daine's torn sweatshirt. The druids had given it to her as a distraction, at first, and she had washed it and managed to get the bloodstains out. But her hands had always shaken with intense emotion whenever she'd tried to repair it, and she'd never been able to hold the needle steady. But tonight, the needle and thread went through the material easily, closing up the ragged tears. She had nothing to worry about anymore- Daine was better, and Lisa had her back.

Daine was released from the druid infirmary a few days later, his repaired sweatshirt returned to him. As he looked at it, tracing his fingers over the careful stitching in the back, he seemed to remember intense pain followed by... something. Worse pain. He shuddered, pulling the sweatshirt on over his white t-shirt. He pulled a pair of dark blue jeans on as well, glad to be able to move without pain. The pain was the only thing that he remembered.

"Daine, before you leave," said Elizabeth, stepping into the ward, and Daine sighed. What did this bitch want now?

"What?" said Daine, trying not to snap at her.

"I feel that you should know what happened, exactly," said Elizabeth.

"Yeah, that seems like it'd be a good idea," said Daine, looking at her. Elizabeth played with a strand of her hair, as though nervous, before she spoke.

"When you first went to Pandoria under the instructions to find Anne, you were badly injured," said Elizabeth. "Louisa found you and brought you back to Jorvik."

"She did?" Daine asked. That didn't surprise him, he knew that his friend was a bleeding heart on top of being a healer. Finding him like that must have been horrible, though.

"Yes," said Elizabeth. "And she... well. You were in a very bad state. We're still not sure what happened to you in Pandoria, exactly, but your body underwent some significant changes. Of course, you looked 'normal' when Louisa brought you through the portal to the Secret Stone Circle, but..."

"Spit it out!" said Daine.

"You were in a coma for about a month," said Elizabeth. "During that time, your body kept changing, and you'd have random outbursts of physical violence. Your teeth turned sharp, your fingers sprouted claws, and your eyes glowed a strange, vibrant purple and yellow."

"I remember the pain," said Daine. Elizabeth winced.

"Yes, we are very sorry about that," said Elizabeth. "We just weren't sure what effect healing magic would have on you, if it would make things worse."

"How can anything be worse than agonising pain?" Daine asked.

"Fortunately," said Elizabeth, ignoring him, "Louisa was brave enough to heal you, using her magic."

"She did?" Daine asked, his anger towards the druids vanishing. Louisa was always healing him, no matter what stupid things he'd done to get injured in the first place.

"Yes," said Elizabeth. "The outbursts stopped after that. We assume that it's because your pain went away."

"Makes sense," said Daine. "Do you happen to know where Louisa is right now?" He wanted to see her, to thank her and... hell, he'd almost died, by what Elizabeth had said. Time to stop tiptoeing around his feelings and just...

"She's at South Hoof, where she always is," said Elizabeth. "She did work at the druid infirmary for a while, but we had to let her go after what she did." Daine glared at her, rage temporarily making his body burn. Elizabeth took a step back, holding her hands up.

"She healed me, someone with a unique condition, and you fired her?" Daine snapped at her.

"It was too risky, she shouldn't have taken such a risk," said Elizabeth.

"You've made a huge mistake," said Daine, marching past Elizabeth. Elizabeth watched him go, concern in her gaze as she bit her bottom lip.

South Hoof was so quiet and peaceful, after the druid infirmary. Part of Louisa missed being able to help and heal everyone, but the rescue ranch needed her help too. And she had a lot of horses in her stable to look after, all bought with money she'd earned for doing odd jobs around Jorvik.

Louisa was in the process of kicking a ball for a foal to chase when she heard the paddock gate open. She turned, expecting it to be Hugh or Lisa, but her heart stopped when she saw who it was.

"Daine!" said Louisa, running over to him with a grin. She was afraid to hug him, worried about his scar, but Daine pulled her into a tight hug that almost took her breath away. He pulled back, giving her a rare smile.

"I'm back on my feet," said Daine. "Elizabeth tells me I have you to thank."

"She said that, did she?" Louisa asked. Daine was still holding her in his arms, and Louisa tried not to feel too excited by that fact. He was just happy to see her, that was all. She could see it in his eyes, no longer the scary purple-yellow but now orange, the way they'd always been.

"Yeah, she said you brought me back from Pandoria and healed me, risking your life," said Daine.

"Yeah, she would say it like that," said Louisa.

"Huh?" said Daine, though he didn't look too surprised. If anything, he looked amused.

"The druids were too afraid to use magic on you," said Louisa. "So they forbid it. I only managed to do it because I was on watch that night and nobody else was there so I... healed you."

"Elizabeth was right, you were brave," said Daine. "In going against the druids. But I must've been pretty scary too, huh?"

"The druids all saw a monster," said Louisa. "But I didn't. I just saw my... friend who was in trouble."

"Friend," said Daine. "Yeah." He winked, and Louisa blushed. "Well, thanks, Louisa. You saved my life."

"It was really my pleasure," said Louisa, feeling her heart beating a little faster.

"No, really, I owe you one," said Daine. "Say... dinner?" He leaned in and, her heart racing, Louisa leaned in to meet him in the middle. She'd half-expected their first kiss to be rough or even shy, or all passion. She'd half-dreaded it to taste of cigarettes, the one thing she didn't like about Daine. But it wasn't like that at all. It was sweet, Daine's lips on hers, his fingers reaching up to touch her hair and then cup her face, tasting only of water and hot sunshine. It was definitely a hot kiss, though. Louisa wasn't sure if that was just from her face or Daine, though. She was definitely blushing when she pulled away.

"Dinner sounds nice," said Louisa, playing with a strand of her hair.

"Good," said Daine. He pressed his lips to hers again, a briefer kiss this time but no less wonderful. "I know it's not super romantic but Fort Pinta cafe okay?"

"Yes," said Louisa, every fibre of her being still singing with joy and happiness. She wasn't sure if she could eat, really, with how happy she was right now. She couldn't stop grinning, and she really hoped that she didn't look ridiculous. She felt like jumping for joy but resisted the urge, especially with Daine's arms still wrapped around her. She almost couldn't believe that this was real. But he was here, with her. He wanted to be with her.

"I'm going to take Cloud out for a ride," said Daine. "I'll let you know when I want to go for dinner. Don't worry about dressing up or anything, you're perfect just the way you are."

"Thanks," said Louisa, fighting the urge to pick at loose threads on her t-shirt. It was only an old farm shirt that the Hightowers had sold to her, really. She watched as Daine walked away, still warm from his presence. And then, she jumped around the paddock, squealing her happiness as the foal she'd been training bounded around with her, whinnying in delight.


End file.
